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Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Spinach, Basil Pesto, & Ricotta Lasagna

For ricotta, I usually use a tofu mixture. I saw Tofutti made a vegan ricotta which I'd never heard of store bought vegan ricotta before. I thought I'd make a lasagna out of it! Maybe next time I'll make a pasta. Overall, the Tofutti ricotta turned out lovely in this lasagna. I think I may prefer it over a tofu mashed ricotta mixture. It gave it a more authentic feel.

Spinach, Basil Pesto, & Ricotta Lasagna

Instagram Photo (User: veganmiss)

* Prep Time: 10 minutes* Cook Time: 1 hour* Ingredients:

1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles

1/2 container (5 oz.) fresh spinach, chopped

1/2 cup fresh basil pesto*

1 tub (16 oz.) vegan ricotta cheese*

1/3 cup vegan Parmesan*

1 tbsp fresh oregano, minced

1/2 tbsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg

black pepper, to taste

1 jar Italian herb tomato sauce

1/2 - 1 cup vegan mozzarella shreds*

* Recipe:

Preheat 350 degrees.

In a big pot of boiling water, add a pinch of salt and drizzle of olive oil and cook 4 sheets of lasagna noodles at a time.

Spread a layer of tomato sauce in a baking dish. Add a layer of noodles, tomato sauce, and ricotta mixture. Repeat layering this way and finish the top with just a layer of noodles and tomato sauce. Bake for 35 minutes uncovered.

Add the mozzarella shreds to the top of lasagna and bake for another 10 minutes.

* Note: I made the pesto fresh from scratch, but you can opt use store bought. The ricotta cheese is from Tofutti. The vegan Parmesan I use is Galaxy brand. Lastly, the vegan mozzarella shreds I used was Daiya.

UPDATE: I made this for Thanksgiving and my mom thought it was so good. She even took some left overs home with her! The ricotta melted perfectly. The lasagna was cheesy, creamy, and YUMMY!I will be using the Tofutti ricotta in the future.